Sing Me To Sleep
by Caramia S. Cesiyess
Summary: Relena is having strange dreams...does it have anything to do with a discovery made my the Preventers? Chapter three now up!
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: Yes...yes I do own Gundam Wing. You caught me. Back to Reality: I really don't own Gundam Wing or any of the characters. I am not making any money off of this(darn...)  
  
Chapter 1  
  
  
"Relena? Relena, are you all right?"  
Miliardo shook his little sister's shoulder in an attempt to wake her up. The sheets of her bed were tangled all around her body. Beads of sweet gathered along her brow. He watched as her face contorted again into a look of pain.  
"Relena! Wake up!"  
Her eyes shot open. She sat up immediately and put a hand to her heart. Relena could feel it pounding through her nightshirt. She looked at her brother.  
He sat on the side of her bed with his long hair tied back and a trench coat on.   
She felt tears pouring out of her eyes.   
"Miliardo?"  
He raised a blond eyebrow and patted her shoulder a bit. That action was as brotherly as he got.  
"You were crying in your sleep again. Noin and I just got back from our trip. What's wrong, Relena?"  
Her heart had gone back down to normal. She was able to breath and control her worries.  
"It's that dream again, Miliardo. It always comes back."  
She brushed back a tear with a manicured finger and brought her hands to her lap and looked down.  
"I can never remember the dream though. I'm just so scared."  
He looked down at his sister. Only 17 years old and all this pressure was getting to her. It wasn't fair. He would just have to call a doctor in the morning. A physiatrist had helped him get past the war, the murder, and all the things he had once been. Maybe one could be helpful to Relena. Three months of tortured sleep was too much.  
"Don't worry. There's nothing to be scared of." He cupped her chin in his hands and turned her small face towards him, "I won't let anything hurt you. I'll set a few dozen guards out all around your room, okay?"  
He saw her smile at him.  
"Thanks Miliardo."  
She suddenly wrapped her arms around him. He didn't know what to do right then. Her small arms were wrapped around his neck in a tight embrace. His more powerful arms hung limp at his sides. Miliardo slowly moved his arms around the smaller frame of his sister.  
He held her for a minute or two and then it started feeling awkward. He was just barely getting comfortable with kissing Noin, his fiancé. Miliardo started pushing away from her gently. He smiled when he saw her eyes were closed and her breathing was even. She had fallen asleep.  
The blond prince laid his sister down and pulled the sheets up to her chin. He brushed away a strand from her face and kissed her forehead. It was easy to be caring when no one was there watching him.  
"Sweet dreams, little princess. Please."  
  
Heero glanced at the young girl sitting on his left. Her back was strait and her shoulders perfectly posed. She clasped her hands in front of her and laid them on the desk. But the way her eyes occasionally drooped and the small, dark circles under her eyes revealed her fatigue. A few minutes with the politician in front of her now could put anyone into a coma. And she had been in the same office with him for nearly an hour now.  
"Senator Hiboshu." Relena cut of his sentence, "I hear and understand what you are saying. But you know the policy on weapons. I'm sorry, but we cannot give you permits to start building mobile suits. The other nations would feel threatened and start making suits of their own, and this armistice we fought so hard for would be for naught."  
The young diplomat looked at the pacifist queen standing before him. It was pointless to continue when she had that look in her eye.  
"Very well, Miss Vice Foreign Minister. My country shall not be manufacturing weapons any time soon. I do appreciate your time."  
She stood up, acknowledging his leaving and raised her hand. He gratefully took it and gently brushed his lips against her fragile skin.  
He bowed once before leaving and then shut the heavy oak doors behind him.  
Heero immediately turned his attention back towards the princess.  
"You have another meeting in 4 hours. I would suggest that you get some sleep."  
Relena simply slipped back into her chair and rubbed her eyes. She let out a yawn she had been trying to fight for the past 30 minutes and covered her mouth with a dainty hand.  
Heero raised an eyebrow and sat down on her desk. In the past year it had become easier and easier to express his emotions. Letting them out was a lot easier than keeping the wall up.  
He watched her try to stand and then fall back down. He picked up her hand and silently kissed each fingertip.  
"Why aren't you sleeping?"  
Relena looked up at him and smiled. He didn't need to know why she was afraid to fall asleep at night.  
"I am sleeping, Heero. It's just all these late nights and early mornings and boring politicians."  
"Hn."  
She sighed and started to rise again from her chair. Her legs were just too tired to move and she fell back in the soft chair.  
"That settles that."  
Before Relena could contemplate what he meant he had managed to pull her to her feet and pull her against him. In another swift movement he had lifted her completely off of the ground and was heading towards the door.  
Miliardo choose that moment to walk in.  
As he looked into the meeting room what he saw was a bit shocking: His fatigued and tired sister lying limp in the arms of her bodyguard. Great, just peachy.  
"Ahem, "he coughed and Heero looked up at him. Relena's eyes were beginning to shut, "Relena, I've scheduled a meeting with a doctor in ten minutes. He'll meet you in your room."  
"Can't it be cancelled? She needs her sleep, Zechs."  
The older brother glared at the former Gundum pilot. Ice eyes met the eyes of the ocean.  
Relena, feeling the tension in the air put a hand to Heero's chest letting him know she wanted down. He complied and set her on her feet. She managed a full two steps towards her brother when her legs gave out. Both men rushed towards her but Miliardo was a closer and held into his sister.  
He bit on the finger of his glove and whipped the white fabric off of his calloused hand and felt her forehead.  
"Shit. She's burning up." He easily lifted her in his powerful arms and made a beeline for her room.  
Heero beat him there and opened the door. Then he fled to the staircase and leaned over the railing.  
"Someone! Get a doctor! Relena has fainted!"  
With the announcement that their mistress was in trouble all the maids and servants were rushing about trying to help.  
Heero turned away and headed back into the room.  
Zechs had Relena sprawled out on her bed. He grabbed a few pillows and set her feet on them. The old soldier got up and ran for the bathroom.  
Heero took the opportunity to sit on the bed next to her. This angel's hair was spread all over her pillow. It flowed like water over her bedspread and some strands feel over her shoulders and face.  
He of course moved them away with gentle fingers and could feel through the glove the heat around her face. There was a faint redness around her cheeks and her eyes twitched. Her mouth was drawn in a cute little pout.  
Miliardo returned and brought a damp washcloth over to the bed. He moved her bangs out of the way and laid the piece of material on her forehead.  
She moved a bit but remained still for the most part.  
"When was the last time she got sleep, Zechs?"  
The lightening count looked at Heero. No point in keeping it from him anymore.  
"I've been hearing noises from her bedroom at night. When I go into check on her she's tossing and turning, and she always has a fever. She says she's having the same dream over and over again, but can't remember it," he sighed and ran a hand through his long hair. His icy eyes looked over the face of his only sister. Her eyebrows were knit in frustration.  
"It's been going on for a couple of months now. I've arranged for the doctor to come and see her. He's made a few visits all ready. They've helped a little. But she needs rest."  
Knock Knock Knock  
They both looked up and saw a young man poking his head through the door. He smiled in recognition when he saw Miliardo's face. But that quickly changed to a look of shock when he saw the young princess on the bed.  
"Oh...she's fainted. How long has she been out?"  
The man made his way to the bed and held onto Relena's wrist. Heero pulled away and leaned against the wall: face hidden in the shadows.  
"Only a few minutes. She'll be all right, right?"  
The young man smiled and looked the sleeping girl over, "Yeah she'll be just fine."  
"All right. I need to head out and do some business. You've got it from here Doctor Morisato?"  
"Yes. She should be awake in a few minutes. I'll examine her then."  
Miliardo nodded and motioned for Heero to follow him out of the room. The soldier did so, but not without getting one last glance at the ill diplomat before shutting the door.  
  
Morisato heard the door click into place and heard the two men speaking outside. No one would be bothering him for a while.  
He picked up her limp hand and held it to his lips.  
She moaned a bit at this but remained sleeping.  
The doctor was handsome to say the least. In his mid twenties and a hard, toned body. His hair was brown, and a bit wavy, with sienna colored eyes. He removed his glasses and placed them on the bed stand.  
He leaned in and kissed her ear.  
"Don't worry," he whispered, "Soon all of your bad dreams...will be over."  
  
---A Month Earlier---  
  
A young soldier held a headpiece to his ear and leaned over a computer console. A patch with embroidered gold wings was over his heart and glistened from the light from the computer screen.  
"Uh huh." His was a deep baritone and echoed in the small, quiet room in the Preventers headquarters. His' was a pathetic excuse for a job. He would sit in his small room, ten stories below street level and make sure that all went right in the remote areas of the world where no one was and no one wanted to be...  
Oh, and he also made sure that coffee got to his superiors each morning by six o'clock.  
But today was more interesting than most. He pressed the headphones into his ear more trying to make out the static-filled voice of his comrade over the link.  
"You're sure? ... You realize if I report this and it turns out to be crap, my job goes down the drain, right? ...Hey! I like my miniscual job here...yeah yeah... no, send the satellite pictures to me...yes...what?... yes, of course. All right. I'll talk to you later."  
A smile crept onto this young man's lips.  
"Promotion?...Oh yes."  
  
  
  



	2. Réveillez-vous!

Chapter Two...  
(Zip back to where we left Relena with the doctor-outside her door...)  
  
As soon as the door had shut Heero took a post beside her room and leaned against the wall. His arms were crossed over his chest and he just stared ahead of him.  
Miliardo stood to the side of him and glared.  
"What do you think you're trying to pull with Relena?"  
Heero looked at him from the corners of his eyes.  
"Hn."  
"Don't pull this on me. I don't like you getting close to her if all you're going to do is hurt her."  
"Why would I do that?"  
Miliardo shook his head and rubbed his temples.  
"Listen, Yuy, get this one thing strait: If you hurt her, in any way, I won't give you that chance to make amends."  
"I don't plan on hurting her."  
"You're not the warmest person on the planet, Yuy, you watch yourself around her. Or else."  
With that the older man turned and walked down the hallway. Heero just fixed his eyes on the railing in front of him and waited for the doctor to leave.  
'I won't hurt you, Relena...no matter what Zechs says...'  
"Having fun?"  
A wide-eyed Duo waved at his friend as he came and stood beside him. The braided pilot put down a box and leaned against the wall.  
"Hn."  
Duo shrugged and reached into the pocket of his jacket. He pulled out a box of cigarettes and put one between his lips, then proceeded to light it.  
In seconds Heero managed to grab the little roll of paper and stomp it underneath the heel of his boot.  
"Hey! What did you do that for??"  
Heero glared at the other pilot.  
"You know Relena's rules. She hates those things. Besides...it's disgusting."  
Duo rolled his eyes and let his back slide down the wall so he could sit on the floor.  
"So why are you waiting out here?"  
"Relena's in with the doctor."  
Duo raised his eyebrows and eyed his friend. Then, with a wide grin:  
"A doctor, huh? Did you get Relena in trouble, Heero?"  
Heero gave him the death glare, but Shinigami just smiled all the more.  
"You really want to die, don't you, Duo?"  
"As long as I can die laughing..."  
"Hn."  
"So...why is she in there with a doctor...really?"  
"She hasn't been sleeping well. She fainted a few minutes ago."  
Duo looked up at Heero.  
"Fainted? Is Jou-san all right?"  
"Apparently not if she fainted Duo."  
"Thanks. I appreciate the cooperation." He smirked again, "Having trouble sleeping, huh? Heero, you dog."  
This time Duo quickly shut up: Heero was now aiming a gun right between Duo's eyes.  
"Watch your mouth when you talk about her."  
Shinigami raised his hands in a gesture of surrender and sighed when Heero put the gun away.  
"You know I would never say anything really bad about Jou-san...I'm only kidding Heero. Take a joke."  
"It wasn't a very good joke."  
"Fine, fine..."  
Duo decided to keep his mouth shut for a while and picked up the box he had set down. He opened for the third time that morning and picked up a manila folder that was inside. He opened that up and looked at the pictures and sheets of information in it.  
"What's that?"  
Duo eyed Heero and yawned.  
"It's an assignment I got this morning from Lady Une."  
"Lady Une? I thought you were running that chop shop."  
"Hey! It's not a chop shop!" Duo said with indignity, " It's a scrap metal dump. Don't confuse the two. And besides...business is going slow and I needed another job. What better place to work then in a position where I can bug Wufei all day long and get paid for it!"  
Heero said a mental prayer for the Chinese pilot that would have to work with Duo.  
"What's the assignment?"  
Duo scratched his head and flopped the folders down on his lamp.  
"Aren't we the talkative one today...well, actually I'm supposed to go down and check out this abandoned fort. We have reason to believe that there might be soldiers still hiding there."  
"Soldiers? Oz? Barton foundation?"  
Duo shrugged and looked over the picture he held in his hand. "Well...we think it might be soldiers from when Oz was just starting up. Might even be some early prisoners of war. From what little information we could gather we found out it used to be a prison. Some records even indicate there were severe interrogation rooms in this place."  
"And why do you have to investigate this?"  
The braided wonder pointed to himself and beamed.  
"I'm supposed to be the one to tell them the war is over and welcome them back into society...or lock 'em up if they really are soldiers."  
"_You're_ going to re-introduce them into society?"  
Heero shook his head and said another prayer for those people Duo would be welcoming.  
The door to the side of them opened and Doctor Morisato walked out. The young doctor cracked his knuckles and jumped a bit when he saw the young man within two feet of him.  
"Ah...Mr. Yuy, so good to see you again. I presume you want to see her."  
"Hn."  
Heero just brushed past the man and slammed the door as he entered Relena's room.  
Morisato glanced at Duo and smiled.  
"He's always fun to talk to."  
"Yeah, "Duo chuckled and threw the rest of his papers back in the box, " A true conversationalist. So...is Relena all right?"  
Morisato took his glasses out and cleaned them. Once that was done he put them back on.  
"Well...it's nothing life-threatening...it's simply that she's overworked. And from what I've heard of these bad dreams she's being run down by stress. She just woke up a minute ago and seemed perfectly happy though. That girl always has such a cheery disposition." The doctor threw the strap of his briefcase over his shoulder and threw another smile in Duo's direction, "With any luck some of it will rub off on Mr. Heero Yuy."  
Duo laughed, "Yeah, with luck."  
Morisato nodded and proceeded to walk off down the hall after a quick 'goodbye' to Duo.  
The god of death shivered a bit. There was something wrong about that guy. He seemed perfectly nice. There was just something in his eyes that was just creepy. It seemed like he was hiding something.  
But...anyway. Duo wanted to see Relena before he had to leave. He walked over to the door and heard Heero talking to Relena. Dup turned the gold knob and walked in.  
"Hey, M'lady!"  
Duo smiled as he saw Relena leaning against her headboard. She was holding Heero's hand and smiling. But there were bags under her eyes, and she was just a bit paler than he had remembered.  
"Hi, Duo."  
"So..." he put his box down and then placed his hands on his hips, "What do you think you were doing fainting and scaring the bejesus out of me?"  
Relena smiled more.  
"I'm just trying to keep you guys on your toes I guess."  
Heero shook his head and looked at her.  
"It's not funny, Relena. What if I hadn't been around-."  
"You're_ always_ around." She smiled.  
"Stop making a joke of this Relena!" Heero let go of her hand and stood up. He stormed to the other side of the room and kept his back toward her.  
Relena looked as though she were about to cry when Duo walked over and planted a quick kiss on her temple.  
"Don't worry about him, gorgeous. You know how he is. It's sad really. He needs to get in contact with his inner child."  
The princess smiled at him more and then glanced at Heero's back.  
"I do worry about him Duo. That's what you do when you love someone..."  
Heero, getting tired of being talk about like he wasn't even there, turned around and looked at her.  
"Relena..."  
"Well..."Duo coughed and walked back to the door, "I guess I'll see you guys in a week. Take care of her, Heero." He walked out the door and the two stared at each other once more. As Heero took a step towards her: the door opened again and Duo walked in and picked up his box. As he headed out the door one more time he looked at Relena, "And you take care of him too, Jou-san." He winked and then shut the door behind him.  
Heero waited a few seconds as to make sure all interruptions had been eliminated and then walked over to Relena's bedside.  
He sighed and picked up her hand once again.  
"I just want you to be better again."  
Relena shook her head and a few loose strands of hair fell over her shoulders.  
"I will get better, Heero. If you can stand by me a while longer: I know I can."  
"Hn." He leaned his forehead against hers' and closed his eyes, "As long as you need me, I'll be here."  
Relena closed her eyes and smiled. She was tempted to keep them closed but felt Heero's lips push gently on hers. Her eyes opened and stared into his.  
"Go to sleep now, Relena. I'll be here when you wake up."  
"Promise?"  
He let her see a smirk and pulled the covers up to her chin and pushed her down against the pillows.  
"Mission: accepted."  
  
Miliardo opened the doors to his office and turned on the light by his desk. He sensed someone else in the room and turned around to face a shadowed corner.  
"Come out, Noin."  
The dark-haired pilot emerged into the light and smiled at him.  
"It's pointless trying to surprise you."  
He smiled and walked toward her.  
"That was certainly a short trip you took. What did Lady Une want?"  
Noin ran a hand through her lilac hair and rubbed the back of her neck.  
"I have to leave immediately with Duo to check something out." She glanced up at his face and pouted when she saw the frown on his handsome countenance.  
"I tried telling her I should be here for Miss Relena but she said I needed to take this mission. There might be a rebel group trying to reform itself. We figure it's a small operation. We've been watching this one area for weeks and there's been hardly any movement at all. I should be back in a -."  
She found herself interrupted by a kiss on the lips. She leaned against him and gave into the sweet kiss.  
Miliardo broke the kiss and looked down at her.  
"Do you have to leave right this minute?"  
Noin shook her head and laid her hands on his chest.  
"I leave in an hour."  
Miliardo nodded and immediately leaned down and started kissing her and wrapped his arms around her tightly.  
He led her over the couch and decided to make the best of their time together...  



	3. Je rêverai

I don't own Gundam Wing or the characters! Some other guys do! Go bother them!   
  
  
  
  
Chapter 3...  
  
With a start Relena snapped her eyes open and immediately looked at the clock on the side of her bed. Still groggy from sleep she could just barely tell that she was late.  
She threw the heavy quilt off of her and shivered a bit from the colder air. It was actually quite alerting going from comfortable, cozy warmth to a freezing room. Relena hated it.   
But work was calling and she was already a half hour behind. As she pulled a dress suit from her closet and threw it over her head. Her nightdress was left forgotten on the floor as she grabbed a brush and removed the knots from her long hair.  
As soon as her hair was pulled back in an somewhat formal bun she was running out of her room and slipping her left shoe on her foot.  
"Pagan! I'm in a bit of a rush! I'll eat breakfast at the office downtown!"  
Relena was now racing down the marble stairs and almost out the door when a voice stopped her.  
"You'll hold it right there, little lady. I will not allow you to leave under nourished. I would be beheaded."  
The princess smiled and turned around to face her faithful servant. Pagan was always too kind to her.  
"I'll be fine...as...soon...as...Pagan?"  
"Yes, Miss Relena?"  
"What on Earth did you do to your hair?"  
Pagan merely looked at her curiously and then reached in his pocket. He pulled out a small mirror and looked at himself. The reflection showed a man, wearing a butler's uniform, and there was a mustache covering his upper lip. The tips were jet black but at the very beginnings were gray. At the top of his head it was much the same. At the very roots his hair was gray while most of the length was black. Though there were some patches of the horrible gray over his ears.  
"You mean the gray, miss? Well, between you and your brother I'm sure it will all be falling out soon.  
Relena only stared at him.  
"And what do you mean trying to rush out of the house like that? Everyone is waiting at the breakfast table for you. Honestly."  
The young politician still looked perplexed even as she followed the older man through large oak doors into the dining hall. She hardly ever got to use the room nowadays. There was always too much work to really sit down and have a decent meal with her family.  
But as she walked into the large room she was startled once again.  
Sitting where her brother usually sat was a man with striking blond hair talking with a woman on his right who was laughing and suddenly looked up as Relena walked in.  
"Relena! There you are! We've all been waiting."  
"Pardon me, Ma'am, but who are you?"  
The lady laughed harder and stood up. Relena saw she was wearing a long, somewhat formal dress. It was a light blue and hung off the older woman's shoulders just a bit. There was a red sash going from her right shoulder and ended in a bow on her left hip. The lady's hair fell over her shoulder and down her back in long curls of honey-blond.  
"Oh, you are being so silly lately. Come sit down. Miliardo should be here any second..."  
Relena silently refused the invitation when she heard the doors behind her open. She turned and gasped when she saw who had just walked in.  
Wearing black dress pants, a light blue shirt, and a rather expensive looking dress jacket was a young boy. He looked up at her and smiled.  
His hair was such a light blond that it was almost white. It was in loose curls that just barely stood off of his head. But Relena knew him from the eyes.  
A cold, metallic blue was what she saw. Not unfriendly, but actually smiling from pure, innocent happiness.  
"Miliardo?"  
He looked at her like she had just said something stupid and walked over to the two persons at the far end of the table.  
"I think Lena needs to spend less time with her dolls: I think she's going crazy."  
The man smiled and rubbed the top of the boy's curls.  
"That's not nice, Miliardo."  
"Aww...dad...."  
Relena felt so many things at once. She first felt like the air was passing properly through her throat, because she felt like she was chocking.  
She also felt as though her legs would give out on her any second.  
And she didn't have time to register what else she was feeling because the happiness and peace of the room was suddenly shattered like the windows on the far side of the wall.  
All Relena saw was guns, and sudden fires bursting everywhere. And then she saw the man, woman, and Miliardo running out of the room. Then, she saw herself running with them.  
She was small with her long hair tied in braids that flew behind her as she ran. She kept tripping over the yellow dress she was wearing and Miliardo constantly had to pull her by the hand.  
The quiet house was thrown into chaos as there were shouts flying between men with guns and others with torches. But one small sound registered to Relena.  
One single gun shot sounded in her ears and seconds later she saw the man...her father, fall to the ground.   
She wanted to stop and see if her were all right, but a force was carrying her with the woman and the children.  
And now she could see the woman's face clearly. It was exactly like her own, but older, more dignified. And tears were running down her cheeks as she tried to keep a calm look on her face. She suddenly picked her children up and ran down an empty hall.  
She could feel the fear in the woman almost as if she were feeling it herself. More than her own safety, the lady was worried what would happen to Miliardo and Relena.  
Relena felt tears pouring down her own cheeks and willing the woman to run faster with her mind. But, of course she was powerless.  
The woman finally burst into a room at the end of the corridor and shut the door behind her and locked it. She placed her children on the floor and wiped the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand. And almost as if Relena could read the woman's mind she knew this terrified woman before her knew this was the last time she would see her children.  
Her mother could hear the cries outside the door and already knew most of the household was either dead or dying. But her children would not go down so easily. Even if she would have to fulfill their safe destiny with her own blood, she would make it happen.  
With a sudden strength the woman marched across the room and pressed her hand against the wall. She moved her manicured fingers along the panels and suddenly pressed down on one. The wood moved away from the room and showed a passageway behind it. It was dark and musty and there were cobwebs everywhere.   
The woman grabbed her children and forced them into the tunnel.  
The younger Relena looked terrified and her bright eyes were filling with tears. Miliardo was in much the same state and was trying to keep his lip from trembling.  
"Darlings..."the queen swallowed hard trying to calm herself. "You have to hide in the tunnels for a while. Miliardo, you play hide and seek in here, don't you?" she was forcing a smile on her face though all she wanted to do was break into tears.  
"Take Relena and show her all your secret places in the walls. And be sure to be very quiet."  
Miliardo threw himself into his mother's arms and hugged her as tight as possible. He let go reluctantly and then picked up Relena's hand.  
"Let's go Lena."  
Relena whimpered and grabbed her mother's sleeve.  
"I don't want to go in there, mommy. There are spiders. Can't I stay with you?"  
The lady hugged Relena and kissed her cheek. Her daughter was clinging to her now and her grip just tightened as she tried to pull Relena away.  
"Mommy needs to take care of something. I'll find you later."  
"I want you to come with me now."  
"Honey..." she swallowed again and rubbed her eyes, "I need you to go with Miliardo."  
Relena broke her grip from her mother and looked at her brother.  
He was holding out a hand to her and trying his best to smile. The white jacket he had been wearing was covered with specks of dirt, and his hair was ruffled more than usual.  
"Do you promise to get me?"  
The young Relena touched her mother's cheek and pouted even more.  
"Of course."  
The monarch turned her head towards the noises that were coming from outside the door. She would be found soon, and killed by these unforgiving soldiers. Her consolations were that her children would be safe and maybe, if God was kind, she could be with her husband soon.  
Relena nodded and took Miliardo's outstretched hand. The two walked into the darkness and in seconds they were beyond sight in the murky tunnels.  
The lady slammed the panel back into place and ran her hand along the hidden hinges to make sure no one else would find out where her children were hiding.  
She leaned against the wall and slumped to the ground. Mere seconds after she had secured the secret tunnel the door burst open and soldiers wearing clothes covered with dirt, ashes, and blood pointed guns at her.  
Relena could only watch as the woman was surrounded and beaten into unconsciousness and finally one of the soldiers aimed a gun at her and fired.  
The young princess turned her head as he fired and buried her face in her hands.  
She felt the ground suddenly start to shake and when she looked at her surroundings everything was being eaten up in flames.  
Through the closed windows of the room she could see old mobile suits firing their large guns all over.  
And as the fire consumed the soldiers and the castle, Relena got one last glance at the fallen figure of the Queen.  
"Mother..."  
Relena suddenly felt a burning sensation on her hands and looked down. The fire had now caught her and was swirling around her flesh and clothes.   
The smoke turned a very dark black and surrounded her.  
Small sparks had reached their way up to her neck and burned the sensitive flesh. The pain became too much and Relena screamed.  
  
  
Heero raced down the hallway. He knew he shouldn't have left her, even for a minute.  
He threw the door open and stood at her side near the bed.  
She was sitting up with a hand covering her eyes. Her hair was falling over her shoulders and sticking to her face. She didn't even look up when he placed a hand on her shoulder.  
"Relena..."  
  
  
* Hours later, on a plane...*  
  
"So, Noin..." Duo placed his hands behind his head and leaned back against his chair. "Are we there yet?"  
Noin rolled her eyes at him and tightened her grip on the controls of the plane.  
"In a few minutes we'll be landing."  
"Good! I can't wait to get this done with!"  
Noin steered the plane slightly to the left and checked over all the equipment.  
"Our assignment is to check out a fortress with possible enemies, and P.O.W's...could you try to sound a bit more serious about the subject?"  
Duo glanced at her and grinned, "Listen, once they see the God of Death, they'll back down. No worries."  
"Is that you're plan for every battle?"  
Duo looked out the window and observed the scenery. Then, after a moment he looked at her and smiled.  
"Basically."  
Noin nodded, "Well, then I'm really glad there were five Gundam pilots instead of just you."  
Shinigami looked shocked for a moment and then crossed his arms angrily over his chest.  
"This is the last time I take you any where, Noin. You're no fun."  
Noin shook her head and snorted. And yet, she couldn't help but want this mission to be done as well. Miliardo's kisses had been passionate and still lingered on her lips, and her cheeks, and her...other areas.  
"Jee, Noin, could that be the strip we're approaching? Or should we wait for another one?"  
The lutienent blushed and set the plane into the proper mode for landing. She slipped in mic down over her lips and pushed the intercom button.  
"Attention: we will be landing. You all know what to do. Noin out."  
The purple haired pilot lowered the plane down gently. Within a minute the wheels had touched down on the landing strip and was coming to a gradual halt.  
Duo grabbed his set of microphones and smiled.  
"Thank you, passengers, for flying Shinigami Airlines. You're luggage can be found at the rear of the plane. Please file out of the side of the plane in a calm, and singular manner. And don't forget to-crackle-hey!-crackle-shuffle-NOIN!-crackle- Those are MINE!"  
"Disregard Commander Maxwell. Grab your gear and met me outside the shuttle."  
She put Duo's headset away in the locker in the cabin and grinned at the pouting pilot.  
"C'mon. We've got to go welcome some overdue guests."  
The braided pilot sighed and stood up, grabbed his bags and led the way down the ramp.  
A congregation of about fifty soldiers stood on the abandoned airfield. There were large cracks running through the concrete and weeds, some a few feet tall, were growing through the cracks. What was most likely the tower was covered with vines and other foliage. The glass was broken and even from fifty feet away Duo could see dirt, and mud, and branches growing on what remained of the window.  
"Wow. What a dump."  
Noin had grabbed a map from her pocket and scanned it. She held it tighter as another plane, identical to her's, landed on the landing strip.  
"All right, Duo, looks like we'll have to hike through a kilometer or two of pure forest. As soon as we get within 100 hundred meters I want to form a circle around the base. We'll move in, bust into the place see who's stirring. I want everyone with a communicator on, and a check in every ten minutes. I want team leaders with inferred scanners." She looked at him for confirmation.  
"Look who's rushing into things now."  
Noin blushed and turned her head to look at the arriving troops.  
"Maybe I'm being a little bit hasty, but I really just want to get back to Cinq and see Miss Relena."  
Duo snorted and crossed his arms, also surveying the company of men and women.  
"Oh sure...but I don't think that's the only Peacecraft you want to touch base with..."  
The pilot just laughed harder and Noin slapped him up the side of the head.  
"Tell them what to do. I'll be grabbing the rest of my equipment."  
Duo turned to face the crowd as Noin boarded the plane again.  
"Just be sure not to make a phone call to Zechs too long. I don't have time to be waiting for you two finish up your sweet nothings to each other."  
He moved his head just in time as a heavy bag came flying at where his head was just seconds ago.  



End file.
